[Drama Review] 'Ddanddara' - Episode 18 (Final Episode)

After 18 episodes, 'Ddanddara' has finally drawn to a close.

Yeah, I'm that douche that wears sunglasses indoors.

Everyone had a happy ending of course...save for Lee Joon Seok. Seriously, wtf happened to him? It's like the drama drew a complete blank on Lee Joon Seok's story because they either didn't know what to do with him or they simply didn't care...or possibly both. The last we saw of him, he was trudging dejectedly out of the K-Top headquarters. What happened to him after that?

Uhhhh..so.....what happened to Lee Joon Seok?

Yeah, he was the villain of the story and everyone hated his guts but it's not okay to just skip out on giving him an ending altogether. Perhaps the writer thought he wasn't even worth a solid ending...if that was indeed the case, why would they even bother building up his story which led nowhere? The drama showed those scenes of him trying to keep his company alive and his meeting with the 'Wild Company' CEO, and then the writer of the drama was like, "Whatever, I don't care anymore," and decided to completely write him off the map. It was baffling to say the least and honestly seemed kind of lazy. Most K-dramas allow the antagonists some sort of redemption arc or a decisive ending but Lee Joon Seok was given neither.

Hyeri's acting = needs improvement unless she wants to be Hwang Jung Eum 2.0

And I've made up my mind that this drama was not good at the romance part of the story...at all. As I've written countless times until my fingers tired from the effort, there was absolutely zero chemistry between Seok Ho and Geu Rin. I believe the entire story could have done without the romance, but I guess the writer or production crew or whoever makes the big decisions thought including a romance was necessary for the viewers to be able to relate more. After all, Koreans tend to like the sappy, cheesy (mmm cheese) stuff. But I personally didn't; in fact, I actually think the romance could have been done away with completely. The drama was about the growth of a rock band in the entertainment industry and the friendship among the members; the awkward romance served more as a deterrent rather than a booster to the overall story, especially because it was so unconvincing. Yeah...I was cringing when Geu Rin used a line from 'Daddy-Long-Legs' to make her confession to Seok Ho.

Friend-zoned by first love...and second love. Poor chap.

What I did like was the drama's approach in representing the development of the friendship among the Ddanddara members. Each member couldn't be more different from one another, hailing from diverse backgrounds and nursing painful wounds from the past. But their love for music transcended every one of their differences. It was the heartfelt, selfless moments in the drama that moved me, and I wish the drama had focused entirely on those scene rather than poured energy into the random comedic breaks and romance.

Walking down this red carpet took forever...

Overall, the drama was just average in terms of writing, plot, and acting. It often tripped itself up in an attempt to be what it wasn't, and I found myself skipping a lot of scenes and thinking I was wasting my time watching it. In short, not my cup of tea (I wasn't given a choice in selecting the drama sadly), but I can see why people would like it for its idealized and rosy version of what the entertainment industry is actually like and the heartwarming story about friendship.